Kolkata triple murder: Debts, lavish lifestyle led to drastic step, say police
Police say initial evidence shows Dey family led a lavish lifestyle despite huge debts; boy injured in car accident alleges his uncle killed the women and teen
Initial probe into the February 19 triple murder case in Kolkata indicates that the younger brother in the family had "murdered" the two women and the teenaged girl, Kolkata Police has said.
On Sunday (February 23), the police said initial evidence showed that the family had accumulated huge debts, and was leading a lavish lifestyle even though they were strapped for cash, which may have triggered these murders.
The police are likely to take into custody the two brothers, the respective husbands of the two women who were killed. The men, who were involved in a car accident, are currently in hospital.
Also read: Kolkata: 3 of family found dead in house, 3 more hurt in car accident
Lavish lifestyle
Reports said the Dey family, which owns a leather goods business, had notched up huge debts, which may have prompted the two brothers to take such a drastic step.
On interrogating other family members, the city police learnt that despite the debts, the two brothers continued to live lavishly, which led to their debts rising further and probably led them to take this drastic step.
Murder and an accident
The three members of the Dey family—two women and a teenage girl—were mysteriously found dead inside their Tangra residence on February 19.
Simultaneously, three other members of the same family, brothers Pranay and Prasun Dey and the former's son, were injured after their car crashed into a Metro Rail pillar on Eastern Metropolitan bypass in the southern part of the city.
According to reports quoting the police, Pranay and Prasun are suspected of murdering their wives and Prasun's teenage daughter on the morning of February 19, before going out to take their own lives.
However, their attempt to commit suicide was thwarted as they met with an accident and had to be hospitalised.
Also read: Kolkata | Body of girl with injuries found in roadside bush, probe on
Boy's confession
The traffic police came across the bodies of their wives, Sudeshna and Romi, and Prasun's daughter Priyamvada (14), when they arrived at the house in the eastern part of Kolkata to inform the family about the accident.
The injured boy in his statement to the police also revealed that it was his uncle who had "killed" his mother, aunt and cousin.
"Circumstantial evidence also indicated that the younger brother has played a vital role in murdering the two women and the girl. But there is evidence that the elder brother Pranay was very much with him in plotting the killings," the officer said.
The crime
The teenage girl, who came to know about the plot, refused to consume the porridge that was spiked with sleeping and high blood pressure pills but she was forced to gulp it down. The police, therefore, found the girl with several bruises around her lips and other marks due to the injuries following the beating.
On the day of the triple murder, all the CCTV machines installed in the residence were switched off.
